The congregation of Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indiana mourned Sunday the death of three of their members – the youth pastor, his pregnant wife and a chaperone who was a mother of five – in a bus crash that happened just a mile from the church.

A federal judge has heard oral arguments for and against the decision of the city of Evansville in Southwestern Indiana to allow local churches to display crosses on public land along the Ohio River, and is expected to issue a ruling before Aug. 4. American Civil Liberties Union argued the crosses would violate the Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker heard arguments over the right of churches to erect 30 crosses decorated by Bible school children on public land along the Ohio River Aug. 4-18.

After two hours of oral arguments, Barker said a ruling can be expected before the two-week display is scheduled to begin on Aug. 4, according to Indystar.com. more >>

The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a motion to intervene on behalf of a group of Indiana churches being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for a proposed display of crosses on public property.

Filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the motion was filed for 10 churches located in the Evansville area.

Bryan Beauman, an ADF allied attorney involved in the case, told The Christian Post that with the paperwork filed a hearing for the ACLU lawsuit has been scheduled for Thursday. more >>

A misinterpretation of Indiana's state laws regarding perjury on marriage certificates has led some, especially gay marriage advocates, to inaccurately accuse the Midwestern state of recently passing legislation that criminalizes same-sex marriage.

The blogosphere erupted recently when a local newspaper reported on two little-known 1997 state laws, known as Section 1 and Section 7 of Indiana Code 31-11-11.

Section 1 declares it a Class D Felony to knowingly submit fraudulent information on a marriage license application, and because the application only provides an option for a male or female applicant, a same-sex couple applying could technically be seen as knowingly providing false information. more >>

Several businesses in Evansville, Ind., have offered to display decorated crosses on their properties after the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit against the city to keep the symbols from being displayed on public land.

Last month the Evansville Board of Public Works approved a request by West Side Christian Church (WSCC) to set up as many as 31 crosses in a downtown area called the Riverfront. The six-foot tall crosses, which are to be displayed for two weeks in August, will be sponsored and decorated by local churches and faith-based organizations of various denominations. The symbols will make up an artistic display called "Cross the River" and are part of an effort to raise funds for two local charities, according to the church's website.

After the city granted the church's request, the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Vanderburgh County residents that claims displaying the crosses on city property would be an unconstitutional government endorsement of Christianity. In response, several local business owners used their company signs to send a message: "Put the cross here." more >>